Adjustable ladder leg



Dec. 7, 1937. FENTON 2,101,576

ADJUSTABLE LADDER LEG Filed April 27, 1957 y l. I E

lNVENTOR.

Z BennFFerzZan,

ATTO RN EY 7' orderthat the invention may be fully understood;

' ing adjustable Patented Dec. 7, 1937 UNITED STATES. PATENT "OFFICE 1 ADJUSTABLE LADDER LEG Benn F; Fenton, Kansas City, Mo. Application April'27, 1937, Serial No. 139,222 9 Claims; (oi. eat-4;?

'My invention relates to an adjustable leg for reventing a ladder from inclining in a transverse direction from the perpendicular when standing 7 on an inclined or irregularsurface, and one object is to provide a leg of this character which may lee-adjusted longitudinally upon either'of the siderails of the ladder to'accommodate the same to such irregular supporting surfaces as may be encountered when the ladder is used by a painter, carpenter, or other workman.

A further. object is to provide simple and efficient means for reliably securing the adjustable leg at any point of its adjustment upon one of the rails of the ladder, such securing means beto accommodate rails of different sizes. 1

Otherobjects will hereinafter appear and in reference will now be had to the accompanying drawing-in whichzw Fig. 1 is a broken front elevation oi a ladder equipped with my' device.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged broken longitudinal sec tion on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an irregular cross section on line 33 ofFig.2.1

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of certain parts of the device. 7

- Referring in detail to the different parts, A designates a ladder. which may be ofordinary conf it being apparent that a wide rail will force the 7 leg 2 outward to a greater extent than a narrow struction comprising side rails B and rungs C.

Referring now more particularly to the device forming the present invention,- 2 designates an adjustableleg of suitable 'length and adapted to slide longitudinally upon the'face ofeither of the railsB. The leg 2 is held in position against the face of one of the rails B by means of a membert and one or more clamp ,fmeans hereinafter described. The member 4 consists preferably of sheet metal and comprises two side walls 8 spaced apart and a transverse rear wall It which latter unites the former; The front of the member 4 is left open so that it may be readily placed inposition upon one of the rails B and the leg 2..

The lower edges'of the side walls vided with recesses 12 'either'of which isadapted to fit over a rung C of the ladder. 'The lower edges of the' side walls 8 are also curved asindicated at 14, so that they may readily clear the adjacent rung '0 when the member 4' is applied upward extensions -l6 either. of which is adapted to 'fit against the'forwardportion of the adjacent rung C and thus cr'iactwithv the recesses l2 in holding said member 4 in position upon the ladder.

. ladder is in use.

8 are pro- In order to prevent the member 4 from being movedupward accidently and thereby disengaging its recessedportion l2 from the adjoining rung. C, I provide one of the sidewalls 8 with a slide H for engagement with the under'portion of said rung C. The slide i1 is operably mounted Suitable clamp means are provided for pressing the side walls 8 into frictional engagement with V V the leg 2 and the adjacent rail B to prevent the former from slipping upon the latter when the The clamp means may be separate fromthe member 4, but to prevent loss or displacement I prefer to mount said clamp means I permanently upon one of the sidewalls, 8. As

best shown by Fig. 3, said clamp means com.- prises a member 26 and a set screw 28, which member 26 is approximately C-shaped to overlap both of the sidewalls 8, to one of which it is ingedly connected by a member 30. The member 36 has a longitudinal slot 32 through which a stud 34 projectsfrom the adjoining side wall latter is threaded in on'e end of the former; The

8. The foregoing arrangement permits the mem-r j bers and it to be adjusted forward or backward to accommodate rails B of different widths,

when said set screw is adjusted inwardly with a wrench it'will imbed the adjoining portion of the associated side wall 8 into the leg 2 more or less and thereby'eliminate all chance of accidentalslippage of said leg in'the member 4,

when the ladder is in use. Preferably the memeber 4 is provided near eachJend with clamp means,'so that the side walls 8 may be reliably held in engagement with the leg 2 and associated rail B; V V V V The device maybe readily applied to a ladder j bytilting the upper end-of the member "4 forward and engaging the rear edge of one of the extensions 16 with one of the rungs B, preferably the third one from the lower end of the ladder. The lower 'end of the member 4 is then swung forward over the underlying rung and then lowered to engage the adjacent. recess l2 over, the last-:mrition'ed-rung. 'Ijhe leg 2 may then be placed between the side walls 8 and against the face of the associated rail B and firmly secured in place with the clamp means above described.

In order to overcome any possibility of the lower part of the adjustable leg 2 from swinging away from the lower end of the ladder rail B, I provide another clamping means somewhat similar to the one above described, excepting that the sheet metal member 4a is only about half the length of the member 4 and may be equipped with but one clamping member.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that I have provided an adjustable leg and means for securing it to a ladder which are well adapted for the purpose intended, and while I have shown and described one form of my invention I reserve the right to all other forms which properly fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claimand desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a leg adapted to be adjusted longitudinally on either rail of a ladder, a member adapted to embrace said leg and the adjacent rail and having a recess at its lower end to fit over one ofthe ladder rungs, and clamp means for forcing 'saidmember into frictional engagement with the leg and the rail to prevent the former from slipping upon the latter.

2. A device of the character described comprising a leg adapted to be adjusted longitudinally on either rail of a ladder, a member adapted to embrace said leg and the adjacent rail having a recess at its lower end to fit over one of the ladder rungs and "an extension at its upper end to bear against another rung, and means for forcing said member into frictional engagement with the leg and the rail to prevent the former from slipping upon the latter.

3. A device of the character described comprising a leg adapted to be adjusted longitudinally on either rail of a ladder, a member adapted to embrace said leg and the adjacent rail of the ladder and rest upon one of the ladder rungs, adjustable means at the upper portion of said member adapted to engage the under portion of another rung, means for securing said adjustable means in position against the last-mentioned rung, and means for forcing said member into frictional engagement with the leg and the rail to prevent the former from slipping upon the latter.

4. A device of the character described comprising a leg adapted to be adjusted longitudinally on one rail of a ladder, a member adapted to embrace said leg and the adjacent rail and rest upon one of the ladder rungs, a slide operably mounted at the upper portion of said member adapted to engage the under portion of another rung, slotted guide means for said slide, stud bolts fixed to the slide and projecting through said slotted guide means, nuts threaded upon said stud bolts and adapted to coact therewith in preventing accidental movement of the slide, and means for forcing said member into frictional engagement with the leg and the rail to prevent the former from slipping upon the latter.

5. A device of the character described comprising a leg adapted to be adjusted longitudinally on one rail of a ladder, a member adapted to embrace said leg and the adjacent rail and rest upon one of the ladder rungs, the lower end of said member being curved forwardly and upwardly, an extension on the upper end of said member adapted to engage the forward portion of another rung, and means for forcing said member into frictional engagement with the leg and the rail.

6. A device of the character described comprising a leg adapted to be adjusted longitudinally on one rail of a ladder, a member comprising a rear wall and two spaced side walls which latter are connected to the former, said rear wall being adapted to bear against the rear surface of the rail and said side walls being adapted to bear against opposite sides of the leg and the rail, extensions at the upper portion of said member adapted to bear against the forward portion of a rung, and means for forcing said side walls into frictional engagement with the respective sides of the leg and the ladder.

7. A device of the character described comprising a leg adapted to be adjusted longitudinally on one rail of a ladder, a flexible member comprising a rear wall and two spaced side walls which latter are connected to the former, said rear wall being adapted to bear against the rear surface of the rail and said side walls being adapted to bear against opposite sides of the leg and the rail and either of which is also adapted to rest upon one of the ladder rungs, upward extensions 1 at the upper portion of the flexible member adapted to bear against another rung, adjustable means at the upper portion of one of the side Walls adapted to engage the under portion of the last-mentioned rung, and means for forcing said side walls into frictional engagement with the respective sides of the leg and the ladder.

8. A device of the character described comprising a leg adapted to be adjusted longitudinally on one rail of a ladder, a flexible member comprising a rear wall and two spaced side walls which latter are'connected to the former, said rear wall being adapted to bear against the rear surface of the rail and said side walls being adapted to bear against opposite sides of the leg and the rail and either of which is also adapted to rest upon oneof the ladder rungs, a slide operably mounted at the upper portion of one of the side walls adapted to engage the under surface of another rung, means for securing said slide in engagefrom the front edge thereof, means for securing said hinge member at any point of its adjustment, a clamp member of approximately C-form pivoted at one end to said hinge member adapted when in active position to bear against the front surface of the leg and'overlap the other side wall, and an element adapted to bear against the last-mentioned side wall and threaded in said clamp memher to coact therewith in forcing the side walls firmly against the leg and the rail.

BENN F. FENTON. 

